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Hyperspace
Hyperspace is a higher-dimensional region in which travel between star systems is possible at superluminal speeds. Only ships fitted with a hyperspace jump-capable frame shift drive are able to initiate a hyperspace jump on their own. Hyperspace jumps rely on the properties of quantum mechanics. Before a jump can be made, the destination must be known, and a discrete amount of energy must be input. The amount of energy needed is dependent on the mass of the jumping ship, the distance to the destination, and the specifications of the ship's frame shift drive. Please Note: The following is taken directly from the Design Decision Forum and will need to be checked and amended as elements are implemented into current gameplay. Also note that misjumps and attacks by thargoids have yet to be implemented. Before the player can initiate a hyperspace jump they must set the final destination of the journey: * The player selects a destination using the galaxy map navigation interface * The jump range is hard-limited by several factors: ** The amount of fuel available determines if a jump is possible ** The basic jump range of the ship’s hyperdrive, determines the distance of each step of the trip *** Different hyperdrives have different capabilities **** Jump range **** Fuel efficiency **** Charge time **** Mass *** Hyperdrives can be replaced with better models to increase capabilities ** Jump locations available to their star map determine the route of the trip ** The total mass affects the jump range, this can be affected by: *** The mass of the modules *** Cargo *** Fuel * The player may also have access to additional information that could inform their decisions: ** Activity heat maps for trade, piracy, conflicts etc. ** Hyperspace tracking/prediction devices to monitor local ship activity (not currently implemented) * A hyperspace journey may comprise of a number of jumps depending on the distance travelled * Changing between economic and fastest filter as well as cargo mass affects the route planner * Once a destination has been inputted the hyperdrive can be engaged Once a journey has been set, the player can engage the hyperdrive: * When the hyperdrive is engaged it begins to draw power from the ship’s power plant until it is fully charged: ** The hyperdrive cannot be initiated if its power draw would make the total power draw of the ship exceed the ship’s power plant capacity *** The player can turn off other powered systems to free up capacity for the hyperdrive ** The hyperdrive cannot be initiated when the ship is too close to a celestial body or large man-made structure; the ship must use in-system travel to reach a minimum jump distance (as implemented ship must not be mass locked) ** To create a safe transit the hyperdrive must perform real-time changes based on ship’s power draw; changes to the ship’s total power draw (up or down) slow the charge rate by a percentage value for a duration *** The percentage value and duration is based on the quality of the hyperdrive ** The hyperdrive is sensitive to interference caused by incoming attacks; when an attack impacts on the hull or shields, the hyperdrive’s charge rate is slowed by a percentage value for a duration *** This effect cannot stack with itself *** The percentage value and duration is based on the quality of the hyperdrive ** A hyperdrive module that has suffered damage may suffer a malfunction when initiated *** The charge rate may be impaired **** The percentage value and duration is based on the severity of the malfunction *** The hyperdrive may misfire, becoming inoperable for a short duration whilst it runs diagnostics, after which it can be initiated again *** The charging process may generate extra heat ** Whilst charging the hyperdrive generates heat * Once the hyperdrive is fully charged it activates: ** The appropriate amount of fuel is removed ** The drive discharges all power ** The ship enters hyperspace ** Time-based effects (charging shields etc.) continue as normal during a hyperspace transition ** A residual opening is left, which dissipates over a duration (up to minutes) * After a delay (a few seconds) the ship exits hyperspace at the destination area ** The player has to engage the hyperdrive again to continue the journey There are actions that players can take which directly interact with hyperspace jumps: * Players that have become Allies (an explicit in game selection of a "friends" flag) can slave their ships together and jump as a single entity ** All ships involved must fully charge their hyperdrive before the jump is initiated ** If any of the ships suffers a misjump, all ships misjump together ** Each slave jumping ship must remain within a set range to at least one other slave ship *** If this distance link is broken, the jump is aborted for all slaved ships ** For each additional slaved ship the chance of a malfunction causing a misjump is lowered ** Ally groups enable the strongest match-making rules, prioritizing the integrity of the group over match ups with other players if it would result in splitting the allies group * Using a Frame Shift Wake Scanner a residual opening can be analyzed to determine the exit point of the hyperspace jump ** This analysis takes an amount of time ** It takes at least as long as the time window for tailgating (so you can’t do both) ** It must fully complete before the residual opening dissipates to give a result * Ships can target a residual opening and attempt to “tailgate” after the ship that jumped ** The tailgater must be in close proximity to the residual opening and activate the hyperdrive *** The time window for tailgating is a fraction of residual opening’s total existence time *** There is a significant reduction in charge time for tailgating *** Fuel is expended for the jump as normal *** The tailgater suffers an amount of hull/module damage during the jump based on how close the residual opening is to dissipating *** If successful, the tailgater appears very close to arrival point of the tailgated vessel * Special ship modules exist that when active can give brief forewarning of ships about to arrive nearby at a location (not implemented)